Z Max Engine Formula... Fact or Fiction?

I thought this stuff had been proven to be just tinted mineral oil and was backed up by fraudulent test results and claims proven false by the Federal Trade Commission a few years back.

Anybody use this stuff?
With all the new adds on tv and with Carroll Shelby's stamp of approval... have they changed something?
Is he just pawning his name and reputation off for a quick buck on some snake oil?

Founding Member

According to the FTC, the CRC L38 test is a standard auto industry tool to measure the bearing corrosion protection properties of motor oils. In February/March 1997, an independent laboratory performed two CRC L38 tests of zMax for Speedway and Oil Chem.

In those tests, motor oil treated with zMax produced more than twice as much bearing corrosion as motor oil alone.

The complaint also states that the defendants fabricated one "report" from the two test reports, eliminating the bearing corrosion results and all other negative test results, and then used that report and the "official laboratory results" - similarly edited to remove detrimental data results - as sales tools in the infomercial and on the zMax Web site.

I think Zmax and a lot of other engine 'treatments' also use teflon. They advertise that the teflon seals to the surface and reduces friction, however 99% of the teflon gets stuck in the oil filter, and the rest burns off. If you go to the store and look at old bottles of the stuff, you might see it settling on the bottom of the container. It's is similar in size to the dirt particles oil filters are designed to stop.

Founding Member

I don't know if any of you know what a MSDS sheet is but it explains just what ZMax is made of.
And a good part (70-90%) of it is ,Phenol, polymer with formaldehyde,
glycidyl ether. Now You can put this in your car's engine if you like but Shelby is an Idiot ( a rich idiot but an idiot ) and there is no way I would put this in my car.
Here is a link to the MSDS, ( Material saftey data sheet).

My71455
Your right, I only looked at Z-Max not the rest. I will get the right one if anyone wants to see it.
One of Z-max claims is that it penetrates the metal. Now I'm not the smartest person with a BS and 2 years of Chemistry but in order to penetrate one substance to another substance, The one doing the penetrating (Z-max) has to have molecules that are smaller than the steel molecules. Steel is pretty dense and liquid is not dense. Liquid is not going to penetrate steel unless it's acid.

That's the biggest laugher..... Shelby's reputation is that he'll do anything/say anything for a buck!

Give him enough $$ and he'll put his name on a turd.

Don't believe me? Do you recall the Dodge Shelby GLH?

Click to expand...

yea ol' Carroll has never been shy on makin a buck, that IS his reputation, so he's not lying really.

Companies either spend money on development of their product, or spend it on advertising. Geico, Progressive, Sham-wow, Z-Max, all of them, advertising with no product development or customer service. The old saying; "you get what you pay for" is still true in this case. But what you pay for is advertising and marketing, and that's all you get.

CONCORD, NC (March 20, 2003) - Oil-Chem Research Corp. (Oil-Chem) and Speedway Motorsports, Inc. (SMI) announced today a resolution to their dispute with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) concerning the advertising of zMAX Power System.

"We at Speedway Motorsports are very pleased that the staff of the Federal Trade Commission has specifically confirmed that Oil-Chem can continue to make the following claims in its advertising and promotion of zMAX,” stated Marylaurel E. Wilks, vice president and general counsel of SMI.

zMAX soaks into metal.

zMAX reduces friction.

zMAX increases horsepower.

zMAX dissipates engine heat.

zMAX helps to improve or restore gas mileage and reduce emissions in older cars, by virtue of reducing engine deposits.

This confirmation is specified in an exchange of letters with the Division of Enforcement of the FTC. Oil-Chem’s letter lists the tests and other documents that substantiate the zMAX claims (provided by Oil-Chem to the FTC during the litigation), and the FTC responded that no compliance action would be merited as a result of Oil-Chem making such claims.

Oil-Chem and SMI have not admitted any liability in this litigation. However, in order to avoid the significant expense and time involved in the litigation, the FTC, Oil-Chem and SMI have agreed to end the litigation by the signing of an order, which, in summary, states: (a) Oil-Chem and SMI do not admit any liability and continue to deny any liability; (b) The FTC has issued its compliance letter (which confirms that enforcement is not merited for the eight specified claims); (c) Oil-Chem and SMI will not make advertising claims which are not properly substantiated; and (d) Oil-Chem and SMI will offer a refund of up to $1 million, in the aggregate, to certain purchasers of zMAX, who bought zMAX before January 31, 2001. No refund will be offered to purchasers after that date. For more information visit zMAX.com.

zMAX was developed in 1947 by Joe Lencki as Speedway Cocktail. Sold to the racing industry and car dealerships since it development, it has been marketed as zMAX since1989. AVBLEND, the zMAX formula for aviation, is FAA approved for all piston driven aircraft and has been available since 1980. In addition to company efforts to market zMAX through infomercial, zMAX is available at better auto parts stores including Advance Auto Parts, AutoZone, Checker, Kargen, Murray's Auto Parts, O'Reilly Auto Parts, PepBoys, Schuck's, Strauss Discount Auto, VIP as well as Target stores and BJ's Wholesale nationwide. zMAX became a part of Speedway Motorsports Inc in 1987.

Speedway Motorsports is a leading marketer and promoter of motorsports entertainment in the United States. The Company owns and operates the following premiere facilities: Atlanta Motor Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, Infineon Raceway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Lowe’s Motor Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway. The Company provides souvenir merchandising services through its SMI Properties subsidiary, and manufactures and distributes smaller-scale, modified racing cars through its 600 Racing subsidiary. The Company also owns Performance Racing Network which broadcasts syndicated motorsports programming to more than 725 stations nationwide including XM Satellite and NASCAR.com, and Oil-Chem Research Corp., the manufacturer and distributor of zMAX. For more information, visit the Company’s website at gospeedway.com.